Jump to content

Buddhism in Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Pakistani Buddhists)

Standing Buddha from Gandhara, 1st–2nd century CE (Peshawar basin, Pakistan)

Buddhism in Pakistan took root some 2,300 years ago under the Mauryan king Ashoka who sent missionaries to the Kashmira-Gandhara region of North West Pakistan extending into Afghanistan, following the Third Buddhist council in Pataliputra (modern India).[1][2][3]

Buddhism first reached what is now Pakistan during Ashoka’s reign when he sent a monk from Varanasi called Majjhantika to preach in Kashmir and Gandhara.[4][5][6][7]

The Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka inscribed on rock boulders in Mansehra and Shahbaz Garhi written in the Kharosthi script recording aspects of the emperor's dharma or righteous law represent some of the earliest evidence of deciphered writing in South Asia, dating to middle of the third century BCE.[8] The Indo-Greek king Menander embraced Buddhism as attested in the Milinda Panha, which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD, following a dialogue with the monk Nāgasena in Sagala, present-day Sialkot.[9]

Mahayana Buddhism, one of the most prominent branches of Buddhism today, is believed to have been originated in the region of Gandhara, although its total number of confirmed Buddhists is a fraction of what it was.[dubious – discuss][10][11][12] In the Gandhara region, Greco-Buddhist art and sculptures flourished.[13]

Buddhism thrived until the 6th century, when the religion began to decline after the invasion by Alchon Huns,[14][15][16] until by the end of the 14th century, Buddhism had largely disappeared following the muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent.[17][18][19]

In 2012, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) of Pakistan indicated that the contemporary Buddhist population of Pakistan was minuscule, with 1,492 adult holders of national identity cards (CNICs). The total population of Buddhists is therefore unlikely to be more than a few thousand.[20] In 2017, the number of Buddhist voters was stated to be 1,884, and they were mostly concentrated in Sindh and Punjab.[21]

The only functional Buddhist temple in Pakistan is in the Diplomatic Enclave at Islamabad, used by Buddhist diplomats from countries like Sri Lanka.[22] Recently in 2023, Fo Guang Shan, a large international Buddhist organization has been invited by the Pakistani government to reconnect the local indigenous Buddhist population to the faith by organizing event, reciting prayers and singing hymns to praise the Buddha in the local tongue. [23]

History

[edit]

Buddhism first reached the Gandhara region of Pakistan following the Third Buddhist Council where Ashoka sent missionaries to the region.[3] As per Buddhist tradition, a monk from Varanasi in India called Majjhantika is held to be the first monk to travel to Kashmir and Gandhara to spread Buddhism under the orders of Ashoka.[4]

Buddhism became prominent in merchant communities and then spread throughout the Mauryan empire through commercial connections and along trade routes.[24][25] In this way, Buddhism also spread through the silk route into Central Asia.[26] Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism and sponsorship of Buddhist missionaries allowed for the expansion of that faith into Sri Lanka, Northwestern India, and Central Asia.[27][28] Mauryan control over the northwestern frontier is attested from the Rock Edicts left by Ashoka in Mansehra and Shahbaz Garhi.

Major Rock Edict of Ashoka in Mansehra.

In the 2nd century B.C., Demetrius I invaded the Indian Subcontinent, establishing the Indo-Greek kingdom. One of the most famous Indo-Greek kings Menander, converted to Buddhism following a dialogue with the monk Nāgasena in Sagala, present-day Sialkot.[9][29] Direct cultural exchange is described by a dialogue called the Debate of King Milinda (Milinda Pañha) which recounts the discussion between Menander and the Buddhist monk Nāgasena, who was himself a student of the Greek Buddhist monk Mahadharmaraksita. Upon Menander's death, the honor of sharing his remains was claimed by the cities under his rule, and they were enshrined in stupas, in a parallel with the historic Buddha.[30] Several of Menander's Indo-Greek successors inscribed "Follower of the Dharma," in the Kharoṣṭhī script, on their coins.[31]

King Milinda and Nagasena.

During the two centuries of their rule, the Indo-Greek kings combined the Greek and Indian languages and symbols, as seen on their coins, and blended Greek and Indian ideas, as seen in the archaeological remains.[32] The diffusion of Indo-Greek culture had consequences which are still felt today, particularly through the influence of Greco-Buddhist art.[33]

Following the foundation of the Kushan empire by the invading Yuezhi nomads in the 1st century BCE, the Kushans adopted elements of the Hellenistic culture of the Indo-Greeks.[34] During Kushan rule, Gandharan Buddhism was at the height of its influence and a significant number of Buddhist centers were built or renovated.[35]

Standing Buddha, Gandhara, 1st century AD.
Herculean depiction of Vajrapani (right), as the protector of the Buddha, 2nd century AD Gandhara, British Museum.[36]

The Buddhist art of Gandhara was a synthesis of Hellenistic and Indian elements.[37] The Gandhāran Buddhist texts also date from this period. Written in Gāndhārī Prakrit, they are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered (c. 1st century CE).[38] According to Richard Salomon, most of them belong to the Dharmaguptaka school.[39] Emperor Kanishka is particularly known for his support of Buddhism. During his reign, stupas and monasteries were built in the Gandhāra.[40] Kushan royal support and the opening of trade routes allowed Gandharan Buddhism to spread along the Silk Road to Central Asia, the Tarim Basin and thus to China.[40]

Between the 5th and 8th centuries, Chinese scholars traveling through the region, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, Hui-sheng, and Sung-Yun, began to speak of a decline of the Buddhist Sangha in the northwestern parts of Indian subcontinent, especially in the wake of the Alchon Hun invasion from Central Asia in the 6th century CE.[15] Xuanzang wrote that numerous monasteries in north-western Indian subcontinent had been reduced to ruins by the Huns.[15][41]

The Alchons apparently undertook the mass destruction of Buddhist monasteries and stupas at Taxila, a high center of learning, which never recovered from the destruction.[42][43] Virtually all of the Alchon coins found in the area of Taxila were found in the ruins of burned down monasteries, where apparently some of the invaders died alongside local defenders during the wave of destructions.[42] It is thought that the Kanishka stupa, one of the most famous and tallest buildings in antiquity, was destroyed by them during their invasion of the area in the 460s CE. The Mankiala stupa was also vandalized during their invasions.[44]

Mihirakula in particular is remembered by Buddhist sources to have been a "terrible persecutor of the religion".[14] During the reign of Mihirakula, over one thousand Buddhist monasteries are said to have been destroyed.[45] In particular, the writings of Chinese monk Xuanzang from 630 CE explained that Mihirakula ordered the destruction of Buddhism and the expulsion of monks.[46] Indeed, the Buddhist art of Gandhara, in particular Greco-Buddhist art, becomes essentially extinct around that period. When Xuanzang visited Gandhara in c. 630 CE, he reported that Buddhism had drastically declined, and that most of the monasteries were deserted and left in ruins.[16]

According to Peter Harvey, the religion recovered slowly from these invasions during the 7th century, with the "Buddhism of Punjab and Sindh remaining strong".[47]

However, the religion further declined following the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent.[48] As early as the 8th century, Arab conquerors conquered the southern part of present-day Pakistan. The Buddhist monk Xuanzang observed that Buddhism was already declining in the Sindh region when he visited in the 7th century.[49] While Buddhism declined and ultimately disappeared after Arab conquest mainly due to conversion of almost all of the Buddhist population of Sindh to Islam. Derryl Maclean attributes the decline of Buddhism in Sindh to the socio-economic differences between Hinduism and Buddhism in the region, with Buddhism being mainly urban and mercantile, while Hinduism was rural and non-mercantile.[17] The Arabs attracted and converted the Buddhist classes, but for the rural and non-mercantile parts, they promoted a more decentralized authority and appointed Brahmins for the task.[17]

In a second wave, from the 10th through the 12th centuries, the Ghaznavids overtook Gandhara and Punjab. The Persian traveller Al Biruni's memoirs suggest Buddhism had vanished from the medieval Punjab region by the early 11th century.[18] By the end of the twelfth century, Buddhism had further disappeared, with the conquest of the Ghaznavids.[50] Buddhism survived confined in the northern region of Gilgit Baltistan until 13–14th century, perhaps slightly longer in the nearby Swat Valley.[19]

Archaeological sites

[edit]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

[edit]
Main article: Gandharan Buddhism
Amluk-Dara Stupa in the Swat Valley.

Famed for its unique Gandharan style of art which is heavily influenced by the classical Greek and Hellenistic styles, Gandhara attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century CE under the Kushan Empire, who had their capital at Peshawar (Puruṣapura).

The monastic complex called Takht-i-Bahi is located in the Mardan district. It was unearthed in the early 20th century, and in 1980, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list as the largest Buddhist remains in Gandhara, along with the Seri Bahlol urban remains that date back to the same period, located about a kilometer south.[51]

Oddiyana was a small region in present-day Swat District.[52][53][54] It is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayāna Buddhism. It was also called as “the paradise of the Ḍākinīs”.[55] Padmasambhava, the eighth-century Buddhist master who was instrumental in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, was believed to have been born in Oddiyana.[56] Founder of the Dzogchen tradition of Buddhism Garab Dorje was also born here.

Punjab

[edit]
Ruins of Dharmarajika Stupa in Taxila. It was destroyed during the Hunnic invasions in the 6th century.

Most of the archaeological sites of Taxila are located around Taxila Museum. For over 1,000 years, Taxila remained famous as a center of learning Gandharan art of sculpture, architecture, education and Buddhism in the days of Buddhist glory.[57] There are over 50 archaeological sites scattered around Taxila. Some of the most important sites are the Dhamarajika Stupa and Monastery (300 BC – 200 AD), Bhir Mound (600–200 BC), Sirkap (200 BC – 600 AD), Jandial Temple (c.250 BC) and Jaulian Monastery (200 – 600 AD).[58]

A museum comprising various sections with rich archaeological finds of Taxila, arranged in chronological order and properly labeled, has been established close to the site.[58]

Sindh

[edit]
Buddha from the Kahu-jo-daro stupa, circa 410 CE.

Buddhist sites in Sindh are numerous but ill preserved in various stages of deterioration. Sites at Brahmanabad (Mansura) include a Buddhist stupa at Mohenjo-daro; Sirah-ji-takri near Rohri, Sukkur; Kahu-Jo-Daro at Mirpur Khas, Nawabshah; Sudheran-Jo-Thul near Hyderabad; Thul Mir Rukan stupa; Thul Hairo Khan Stupa; Bhaleel-Shah-Thul square stupas (5th–7th century A.D) at Dadu, and Kot-Bambhan-Thul buddhist tower near Tando Muhammad Khan. Many terracotta tiles from Kaho-Jo-Daro and Buddha statues are exhibited in Chatrapati Shivaji Museum, Mumbai.[59]

Balochistan

[edit]
Buddhist Cave city Gondrani, Balochistan.

Chinese Buddhist traveller Hiuen Tsang reported many Buddhist temples in coastal regions of Makran, Balochistan. The remains of Buddhist cave city called Godrani caves can still be seen today.[60][61][62]

Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī states in his book Alberuni's India that the coast of India begins with Tiz, the capital of Makran.[63]

According to historian Andre Wink:

Further evidence in the Chachnama makes perfectly clear that many areas of Makran as of Sindh had a largely Buddhist population. When Chach marched to Armabil, this town is described as having been in the hands of a Buddhist Samani (Samani Budda), a descendant of the agents of Rai Sahiras who had been elevated for their loyalty and devotion, but who later made themselves independent. The Buddhist chief offered his allegiance to Chach when the latter was on his way to Kirman in 631. The same chiefdom of Armadil is referred to by Hiuen Tsang O-tien-p-o-chi-lo, located at the high road running through Makran, and he also describes it as predominantly Buddhist, thinly populated though it was, it had no less than 80 Buddhist convents with about 5000 monks. In effect at eighteen km northwest of Las Bela at Gandakahar, near the ruins of an ancient town are the caves of Gondrani, and as their constructions show these caves were undoubtedly Buddhist. Traveling through the Kij valley further west (then under the government of Persia) Hiuen Tsang saw some 100 Buddhist monasteries and 6000 priests. He also saw several hundred Deva temples in this part of Makran, and in the town of Su-nu li-chi-shi-fa-lo - which is probably Qasrqand - he saw a temple of Maheshvara Deva, richly adorned and sculptured. There is thus very wide extension of Indian cultural forms in Makran in the seventh century, even in the period when it fell under Persian sovereignty. By comparison in more recent times the last place of Hindu pilgrimage in Makran was Hinglaj, 256 km west of present-day Karachi in Las Bela.[64]

Wink has recorded Hiuen Tsang's notings on the language and script in use in easternmost Makran (eastern parts of Pakistani Balochistan and Sindh):

Hiuen Tsang considered the script which was in use in Makran to be 'much the same as India', but the spoken language 'differed a little from that of India.'[65]

Gilgit Baltistan

[edit]
See also: Patola Shahis
Photograph of Kargah Buddha in Gilgit; "The ancient Stupa – rock carvings of Buddha, everywhere in the region, point to the firm hold of Buddhism for such a long time."[66]

The region has a number of surviving Buddhist archaeological sites, including the Manthal Buddha Rock—a rock relief of the Buddha at the edge of the village (near Skardu)—and the Sacred Rock of Hunza. Nearby are former sites of Buddhist shelters.

Demographics

[edit]

The presence of Pakistani Buddhists in modern Pakistan is unclear,[67] although a few Pakistanis have reported themselves as Buddhist. A report mentions that they are only found in the Azad Kashmir region.[68] The Nurbakhshi sect is said to retain some elements of Buddhism.[69]

According to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), there were 1,492 buddhists in holding national identity cards (CNICs) in 2012.[20] In 2017, it increased to 1,884 holders. They are mostly concentrated in Sindh and Punjab regions.[21] According to a report, most of the Baori Buddhists do not have CNIC cards, and the actual Buddhist population could exceed 16,000.[70]

In Sindh and Southern Punjab, there is a community of Buddhists called Baori Buddhists that live primarily in the outskirts of the Mandi Yazman and Rahimyar Khan of Rohi region. Today, they have around 15 colonies in various villages of Mandi Yazman. They used to be nomadic and may have connections to the Roma people[70]

Buddhism in modern Pakistan

[edit]

Tridev Roy, the Chakma chief, supported Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War; he then left the Chittagong region and settled in Pakistan. He claimed to represent the Buddhists of Pakistan by founding and chairing the "Pakistan Buddhist Society" from 1996 until his death in 2012.[71] His family stayed behind in Bangladesh.

Lala Rajoo Raam is the representative of the Baori Buddhists community. He is also a councillor for Chak number 75 DB, Union Council number 88. He also twice contested elections for the Punjab assembly.[70]

Taliban destruction of Buddhist relics

[edit]
Buddhist rock carving in Manglawar damaged by the Taliban

The Swat Valley in Pakistan has many Buddhist carvings and stupas, and Jehanabad contains a Seated Buddha statue.[72] Kushan-era Buddhist stupas and statues in Swat valley were demolished by the foreign-funded Taliban and after two attempts by them, the Jehanabad Buddha's face was destroyed by dynamite.[73][74][75] Only the Bamiyan Buddhas were larger than the carved giant Buddha statue in Swat near Mangalore.[76] The government did nothing to safeguard the statue after the initial attempt at destroying it, which did not cause permanent damage, but when the second attack took place on the statue, its feet, shoulders and face were demolished.[77] Islamists such as the Taliban and looters destroyed much of Pakistan's Buddhist artifacts left over from the Buddhist Gandhara civilization, especially in Swat Valley.[78] The Taliban deliberately targeted Gandhara Buddhist relics for destruction.[79] The Christian Archbishop of Lahore Lawrence John Saldanha wrote a letter to Pakistan's government denouncing the Taliban activities in Swat Valley including their destruction of Buddha statues and their attacks on Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus.[80] Gandhara Buddhist artifacts were also looted by smugglers.[81] A group of Italians helped repair the Buddha at Jahan Abad, Swat.[82]

Pakistan Buddhist tourism

[edit]
A statue of Buddha (at Jaulian, Taxila) with a hole in the navel is an odd artifact. It is called the "Healing Buddha". Buddhist pilgrims put their fingers in the navel hole and pray for the ailment of the patients.

In March 2013, a group of around 20 Buddhist monks from South Korea made the journey to the monastery of Takht-i-Bahi, 170 kilometers (106 miles) from Islamabad. The monks defied appeals from Seoul to abandon their trip for safety reasons, and were guarded by Pakistani security forces on their visit to the monastery, built of ochre-colored stone and nestled on a mountainside. From around 1,000 years BCE until the 7th century CE, northern Pakistan and parts of modern Afghanistan formed the Gandhara kingdom, where Greek and Buddhist customs mixed to create what became the Mahayana strand of the religion. The monk Marananta set out from what is now northwest Pakistan to cross China and spread Buddhism in the Korean peninsula during the 4th century. The authorities are even planning package tours for visitors from China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, including trips to the Buddhist sites at Takht-e-Bahi, Swat, Peshawar and Taxila, near Islamabad.[83]

Historical figures

[edit]

Some Buddhist historical figures who hailed from present-day Pakistan include:

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rengel, Marian (15 December 2003). Pakistan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. pp. 59–62. ISBN 978-0-8239-4001-1. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Buddhism In Pakistan". pakteahouse.net. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b Buswell, Robert; Lopez, Donald (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. pp. 424–425. ISBN 9780691157863. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Buswell Jr, Robert (2014). "Madhyāntika". Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.
  5. ^ Bansi Lal Malla (1990). Sculptures of Kashmir, 600-1200 A.D. Agam Kala Prakashan. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8364-2521-5.
  6. ^ Kumāra, Braja Bihārī (2007). India and Central Asia: Classical to Contemporary Periods. Concept Publishing Company. p. 66. ISBN 978-81-8069-457-8.
  7. ^ Hirakawa, Akira (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 87. ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0.
  8. ^ Department of Archaeology and Museums (30 January 2004). "UNESCO world heritage Centre - Mansehra Rock Edicts". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  9. ^ a b Pesala (Bhikkhu.) (1991). The Debate of King Milinda: An Abridgement of the Milinda Pañha. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 19. ISBN 978-81-208-0893-5.
  10. ^ "Remembering Pakistan's Buddhist past | The Express Tribune". tribune.com.pk. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  11. ^ Karashima, 2013.
  12. ^ Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 25.
  13. ^ "Long Read: A Pakistani homeland for Buddhism: Buddhist art, Muslim nationalism and global public history". South Asia@LSE. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 69–71. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
  15. ^ a b c Wendy Doniger (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. pp. 155–157. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
  16. ^ a b Ann Heirman; Stephan Peter Bumbacher (11 May 2007). The Spread of Buddhism. Leiden: BRILL. p. 60. ISBN 978-90-474-2006-4.
  17. ^ a b c MacLean, Derryl L. (1989). Religion and Society in Arab Sind. BRILL. pp. 12–14, 77–78. ISBN 978-90-040-8551-0.
  18. ^ a b Muhammad ibn Ahmad Biruni (1888). Alberuni's India: An Account of the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India about AD 1030. Translated by Edward C. Sachau. Cambridge University Press. pp. 253–254. ISBN 978-1-108-04720-3.
  19. ^ a b Naik, C. D. (2010). Buddhism and Dalits: Social Philosophy and Traditions. Gyan Publishing House. p. 39. ISBN 978-81-7835-792-8. Buddhism survived in Gilgit and Baltistan until 13-14th Century, perhaps slightly longer in the nearby Swat Valley.
  20. ^ a b "Over 35,000 Buddhists, Baha'is call Pakistan home". Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
  21. ^ a b "Pakistan elections: Non-Muslim voters up by 30%, Hindus biggest minority". 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Vesak Festival in Islamabad". mfa.gov.lk. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  23. ^ 人間福報. "復興巴基斯坦佛教 佛光僧侶宣法 | 覺世．宗教". 人間福報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Furthermore, Buddhism was prominent in communities of merchants, who found it well suited to their needs and who increasingly established commercial links throughout the Mauryan empire". Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 46.
  25. ^ "During the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. (Before Common Era), commerce and cash became increasingly important in an economy previously dominated by self-sufficient production and bartered exchange. Merchants found Buddhist moral and ethical teachings an attractive alternative to the esoteric rituals of the traditional Brahmin priesthood, which seemed to cater exclusively to Brahmin interests while ignoring those of the new and emerging social classes." Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 43.
  26. ^ "Merchants proved to be an efficient vector of the Buddhist faith, as they established diaspora communities in the string of oasis towns-Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashgar, Khotan, Kuqa, Turpan, Dunhuang – that served as lifeline of the silk roads through central Asia." Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 47-48.
  27. ^ Hermann Kulke 2004, p. 67.
  28. ^ Strong, John S. (2002–2003). Faure, Bernard (ed.). "Ashoka's Wives and the Ambiguities of Buddhist Kingship". Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie. 13. Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient: 35–54. doi:10.3406/asie.2002.1176. eISSN 2117-6272. ISSN 0766-1177. JSTOR 44167352. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  29. ^ Narain, "The Indo-Greeks" 2003, p. 124
  30. ^ Plutarch, Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6
  31. ^ Foreign Impact on Indian Life and Culture (c. 326 B.C. to C. 300 A.D.) Satyendra Nath Naskar, Abhinav Publications, 1996, p. 69 [11]
  32. ^ "A vast hoard of coins, with a mixture of Greek profiles and Indian symbols, along with interesting sculptures and some monumental remains from Taxila, Sirkap and Sirsukh, point to a rich fusion of Indian and Hellenistic influences", India, the Ancient Past, Burjor Avari, p. 130
  33. ^ Ghose, Sanujit (2011). "Cultural links between India and the Greco-Roman world" Archived 18 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Ancient History Encyclopedia
  34. ^ Xinru Liu, The Silk Road in World History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 42.
  35. ^ Kurt A. Behrendt, The Buddhist architecture of Gandhara, Handbuch der Orientalistik Brill, 2004, p. 13
  36. ^ "The Buddha accompanied by Vajrapani, who has the characteristics of the Greek Heracles" Description of the same image on the cover page in Stoneman, Richard (8 June 2021). The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks. Princeton University Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-691-21747-5. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2021. Also "Herakles found an independent life in India in the guise of Vajrapani, the bearded, club-wielding companion of the Buddha" in Stoneman, Richard (8 June 2021). The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks. Princeton University Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-0-691-21747-5. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  37. ^ Kurt Behrendt, Pia Brancaccio, Gandharan Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, and Texts, 2006 p. 10
  38. ^ "UW Press: Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhara" Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  39. ^ Richard Salomon. Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhāra: The British Library Kharosthī Fragments, with contributions by Raymond Allchin and Mark Barnard. Seattle: University of Washington Press; London: The British Library, 1999. p. 181
  40. ^ a b Heirman, Ann; Bumbacher, Stephan Peter (editors). The Spread of Buddhism, Brill, p. 57
  41. ^ "Historical Development of Buddhism in India – Buddhism under the Guptas and Palas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  42. ^ a b Ghosh, Amalananda (1965). Taxila. CUP Archive. p. 791.
  43. ^ Upinder Singh (2017). Political Violence in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 241. ISBN 9780674981287.
  44. ^ Le, Huu Phuoc (2010). Buddhist Architecture. Grafikol. ISBN 9780984404308. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  45. ^ Behrendt, Kurt A. (2004). Handbuch der Orientalistik. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9789004135956.
  46. ^ Upinder Singh (2017). Political Violence in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. pp. 241–242. ISBN 9780674981287.
  47. ^ Harvey 2013, p. 194.
  48. ^ Levy, Robert I. Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990.
  49. ^ Shu Hikosaka, G. John Samuel, Can̲ārttanam Pārttacārati (ed.), Buddhist themes in modern Indian literature, Inst. of Asian Studies, 1992, p. 268
  50. ^ Fogelin, Lars (2015). An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism. Oxford University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-19-994823-9.
  51. ^ "Takht Bhai". www.findpk.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015.
  52. ^ Joshi, Lal Mani (1977). Studies in the Buddhistic Culture of India During the 7th and 8th Centuries A.D. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 258–259. ISBN 978-81-208-0281-0. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  53. ^ ‘Uḍḍiyāna and Kashmir’, pp 265-269 ‘The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir’, in Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner. Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, Collection Indologie 106, EFEO, Institut français de Pondichéry (IFP), ed. Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, 2007.)
  54. ^ Wedemeyer, Christian K. (6 May 2014). Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism: History, Semiology, and Transgression in the Indian Traditions. Columbia University Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-231-16241-8. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  55. ^ Shah, Bipin. "Ancient Uddayana-the land of Buddha at Rajgriha, prior to establishment of Patliputra in Ganges Doab". Research gate. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  56. ^ Keown, Damien (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism (1 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 203, 208. ISBN 9780198605607. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  57. ^ "Taxila". www.pakistantoursguide.com/. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015.
  58. ^ a b "Buddhism in Taxila". www.findpk.com/Pakistan/html/buddhist_sites.html. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015.
  59. ^ "Ancient Buddhist terracottas from Mirpurkhas in Pakistan". Art of South Asia, the Silk Road and Beyond. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  60. ^ Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain) (1896). John Scott Keltie (ed.). The Geographical Journal Volume 7. Great Britain: Royal Geographical Society. p. 399.
  61. ^ Wink, André (2002). "The frontier of alHind". Al-Hind : the making of the Indo-Islamic world ([2nd ed.]. ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 135. ISBN 978-0391041257. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  62. ^ Taylor & Francis (1989). South Asian Studies: Journal of the Society for South Asian Studies. University of Michigan: The Society for South Asian Studies.
  63. ^ Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (1910). Alberuni's India. Vol. 1. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. p. 208. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  64. ^ Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th–11th centuries by André Wink page 135
  65. ^ Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th–11th centuries By André Wink Page 137
  66. ^ "Episode 1: A Window to Gilgit-Baltistan". 4 July 1997.
  67. ^ "Thread, Not Scissor Common Spiritual Heritage For Peace And Harmony, Ahmad Salim, SARRC – December 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  68. ^ 800 years of Buddhism in Pakistan, Emi Foulk, The Friday Times, July 18, 2008
  69. ^ "THE NURBAKHSHI RELIGION IN BALTISTAN, Xabier Rentería, 26-11/2007". Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  70. ^ a b c "Meeting Pakistan's Buddhists". 8 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  71. ^ "Monks to start peace march tomorrow,August 05, 2002". 5 August 2002. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  72. ^ Hays, Jeffrey. "EARLY HISTORY OF BUDDHISM – Facts and Details". factsanddetails.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  73. ^ Malala Yousafzai (8 October 2013). I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. Little, Brown. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-316-32241-6. The Taliban destroyed the Buddhist statues and stupas where we played Kushan kings haram Jehanabad Buddha.
  74. ^ Wijewardena, W.A. (17 February 2014). "'I am Malala': But then, we all are Malalas, aren't we?". Daily FT. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  75. ^ Wijewardena, W.A (17 February 2014). "'I am Malala': But Then, We All Are Malalas, Aren't We?". Colombo Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  76. ^ "Attack on giant Pakistan Buddha". BBC NEWS. 12 September 2007. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016.
  77. ^ "Another attack on the giant Buddha of Swat". AsiaNews.it. 10 November 2007. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  78. ^ "Taliban and traffickers destroying Pakistan's Buddhist heritage". AsiaNews.it. 22 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016.
  79. ^ "Taliban trying to destroy Buddhist art from the Gandhara period". AsiaNews.it. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  80. ^ Felix, Qaiser (21 April 2009). "Archbishop of Lahore: Sharia in the Swat Valley is contrary to Pakistan's founding principles". AsiaNews.it. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  81. ^ Rizvi, Jaffer (6 July 2012). "Pakistan police foil huge artefact smuggling attempt". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  82. ^ Khaliq, Fazal (7 November 2016). "Iconic Buddha in Swat valley restored after nine years when Taliban defaced it". DAWN. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017.
  83. ^ "Pakistan hopes for Buddhist tourism boost". Dawn News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015.
  84. ^ Thakur, Amarnath (1996). Buddha and Buddhist Synods in India and Abroad. Abhinav Publications. p. 81. ISBN 978-81-7017-317-5. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  85. ^ Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (24 November 2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  86. ^ Ahir, D. C. (1994). Gautama Buddha. Books For All. p. 49. ISBN 978-81-7386-112-3. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  87. ^ Murthy, K. Krishna (1987). Glimpses of Art, Architecture, and Buddhist Literature in Ancient India. Abhinav Publications. p. 146. ISBN 978-81-7017-226-0. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  88. ^ Purābhāratī: Studies in Early Historical Archaeology and Buddhism : Commemoration Volume in Respect of Prof. B.P. Sinha. Sharada Publishing House. 2006. p. 455. ISBN 978-81-88934-39-3. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  89. ^ Malalasekera, Gunapala Piyasena (2007). Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 473. ISBN 978-81-208-3022-6. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  90. ^ Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (24 November 2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 496. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  91. ^ Puri, Baij Nath (1987). Buddhism in Central Asia. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-208-0372-5. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022. The venerable Kumāralāta (labdha) was a native of Takṣaśilā.
  92. ^ Winternitz, Moriz (1996). A History of Indian Literature. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 258. ISBN 978-81-208-0265-0. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022. Kumāralāta was the founder of the Sautrántika school, and came from Taxila.
  93. ^ Indian History. Allied Publishers. 1988. p. 323. ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  94. ^ Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (24 November 2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3. Born into a brāhmana family in Puruṣapura (modern-day Peshawar, Pakistan), Asanga originally studied under Sarvāstivāda (possibly Māhiṣasaka) teachers but converted to the Mahāyāna later in life.
  95. ^ Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-57607-355-1. Asanga, born in the Gandara region of present-day Pakistan in the city of Purusapura (the modern Peshawar) as the third son of Prasannasila (or Prakasila), was probably active around the fourth or fifth century.
  96. ^ Tola, Fernando; Dragonetti, Carmen (2004). Being as Consciousness: Yogācāra Philosophy of Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 55. ISBN 978-81-208-1967-2. According to tradition Vasubandhu was born in Puruşapura, the capital of Gāndhāra (the modern Peshawar in Western Pakistan).
  97. ^ Chattopadhyaya, Debi Prasad; Embree, Lester E.; Mohanty, Jitendranath (1 January 1991). Phenomenology and Indian Philosophy. SUNY Press. p. 262. ISBN 978-0-7914-9882-8. The principal founders of this school, the brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu, were born in Puruṣapura, today Peshawar in Pakistan, and lived probably in the fourth century.
  98. ^ Meulenbeld, Ben (2001). Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangkas: The Story of Siddhartha and Other Buddhas Interpreted in Modern Nepalese Painting. Binkey Kok. p. 93. ISBN 978-90-74597-44-9. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  99. ^ Kazi, Jigme N. (20 October 2020). Sons of Sikkim: The Rise and Fall of the Namgyal Dynasty of Sikkim. Notion Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-64805-981-0. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  100. ^ Schaik, Sam Van (28 June 2011). Tibet: A History. Yale University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-300-17217-1.

Works cited

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buddhism in Pakistan.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buddhism_in_Pakistan&oldid=1256015787"